Saturday, February 07, 2009

Jennifer Figge swims accross the Atlantic Ocean in 24 days!

I can understand why someone would have an intense need to swim across the English channel, or on a micro level, to swim from Alcatraz to the mainland.

I can wrap my mind around why someone would want to swim at the North Pole or even swim in a January 1st, Polar Bear Swim, but I don't get why somebody would feel an internal need to swim across an ocean in multiple stages, day-after-day, like a postal swim with the USMS?

Anyway Jennifer Figge swam across the Atlantic in just 24-days. From the BBC:

A 56-year-old American athlete has become the first woman on record to swim the Atlantic.

Jennifer Figge took 24 days to swim from the Cape Verde islands off Africa to Trinidad. The exact distance she covered has yet to be computed.

The swim was done wearing a wetsuit from what I can make out in the photos and though I race in a wetsuit when I swim Alcatraz, I think important swims such as the English Channel should be attempted without; but these are just my morals

6 comments:

Anonymous
said...

This doesn't compute. Let's say she averaged 2 miles per hour or 30 minute 1650's. She swam 8 hours a day that's a total of 16 miles per day times 24 days is 384 miles. I read somewhere that the distance from Cape Island to Trinidad on a straight line is 700 miles.

I don't think this is one for the record books. She didn't officially swim the whole way. She swam a few hours then got on the boat & coasted more miles while eating a hot meal & sleeping, 'til the next day. This is just fulfilling a dream of hers. Something wealthy people can do to fill their time. It's arrogant to say she swam the Atlantic. I do admit it is a very admirable thing for her to do at 56 yrs old. She has to be in great shape!

You're right. It should have been done in the same fashion as one would do when walking from coast to coast. You swim as long as you can, then you eat and sleep, and then begin at the exact spot you left off and swim some more till you have crossed the whole damn thing.

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I swim with a sanctioned 'USMS' swim club called: Southern California Aquatics (SCAQ). I compete in local swim meets and open water races throughout California. I make my living as a creative type in "Lost Angeles" and this blog is completely my own endeavor and not owned or controlled in any way by the SCAQ swim club.

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